


Nwalin Gift Exchange 17

by raiyana



Series: Nwalin works [5]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Party, Falling In Love, M/M, Nwalin Gift Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 14:11:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13215438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raiyana/pseuds/raiyana
Summary: When Nori needs a date for Christmas, and Dís needs someone to look at flats with her cousin, Nori accepts the exchange expecting to be met by someone like Balin the Lawyer.Dwalin Fundinul, however, is not what he expected.





	Nwalin Gift Exchange 17

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hoomhum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoomhum/gifts).



> This got slightly away from me... hope you enjoy it nonetheless ;)
> 
> I could have expanded this slightly, but the date snuck up on me...

“It’s the perfect plan, Nori!” Dís crowed, nearly clapping her hands in over-exalted glee. Nori felt slightly less exuberant, staring at his heavily pregnant friend with something approaching horror, turning into almost full-fledged terror when Dís casually set down her hot mug of cocoa on the bump-that-was-now-a-belly. His hands moved with accustomed surety and swiftness, snapping up the warm ceramic that crowned her rounded belly like a tower of imminent scalding.

“Tell me again how your dweeby cousin is going to help me get Dori off my back about this Christmas party setup she has planned?” Nori asked, sighing heavily. Dís had begun her pitch with the words ‘Remember Balin’s brother?’ and no offense to Balin – Nori rather liked the lawyer who had once shown up at the station when he was arrested at three in the morning for what the cop had called indecent exposure and Nori called a sexy costume – but he was definitely not Nori’s type. Balin was almost stereotypically ‘lawyer-ish’ in Nori’s opinion, reedy of build, with eyes that were rather unfortunately deformed by the prescription in his glasses, and with hair that had gone almost pure white even though the guy couldn’t be more than thirty-five.

“Well, cousin Dwalin – he’s Thorin’s friend, more than mine, really,” Dís added, grabbing for her cocoa, and glaring at Nori when he held up the mug with an innocent grin, “he’s coming home for the holidays, going to be looking at flats; he starts his new job in January. He only knows us, here, and he and Balin get along better if they don’t have to see too much of each other; pretending to be your boyfriend for a few weeks would be an excellent way to get him out from under _my_ feet instead of Balin’s.” Nodding to herself, she took a satisfied swallow of cocoa, sighing in bliss.

“What’s to say he’ll even go for this hare-brained scheme of yours?” Nori cried, scowling into his own mug. Dís chuckled.

“C’mon, Nori, you liked it _last_ time I set you up with a cousin of mine!” she cajoled. Nori grinned, filled with fond memories.

“Well, Bof does this thing with his tongue…” he teased, sticking out his own at her and wriggling it suggestively. Dís laughed.

“Don’t tell me any details, please!” she begged. “I’m the size of a house, and I have to pee _all the time_ … I haven’t even been close to anything _fun_ in a month! I might die of jealousy if you start talking about tongues. Not to mention that he’s my _cousin_. Ick.” Nori grimaced, patting her hand sympathetically. Will’s four-week business trip to China had been a sudden decision from upper management, and the fact that he had a heavily pregnant wife to take care of at home had not swayed their minds.

“Unfortunately, Bof’s head-over-heels for that chubby little blonde he knocked over at the flower shop last month, so I can’t ask him to save me.” Nori mock-sighed, though he was secretly pleased that the carpenter had found someone to fall properly in love with. It wasn’t Bofur’s fault that he and Nori worked better as friends who occasionally had sex than as parts of a serious relationship.

“I know, but truly, they are so adorable I can’t complain,” Dís sighed, staring dreamily into thin air. “They made this beautiful arrangement for me last time Bofur came around; all in different shades of blue. Did you know my grandmother had a rose named after her?” Nori shook his head, but he didn’t really care to discuss flowers when he had far more pressing issues to deal with.

The problem, in Nori’s opinion, was that Dori’s version of setting him up on blind dates tended to fall under the category of ‘Disastrous hilarity’. Of course, that category was good for conning free beer out of his friends when he retold the horror-stories the week after, but not in any way useful at getting Dori to stop thinking that she knew ‘ _just the guy, Nori_ ’ to sweep him off his feet. Last time he’d seen his sister, it had culminated in Nori blurting out that he had already found someone to take as his plus-one for Dori’s Christmas Extravaganza just to shut her up about some bloke at the casino called Ricardo. Nori had gone out with Ricardo once, _before_ he had started as a dealer, and it was an experience best left to the fogs of oblivion. In any case, Dís did have a better track record, going back years. Her cousin was unlikely to get handsy – at least, if he knew what was good for him. Dís could be surprisingly savage when it came to protecting those she considered her own. She had beauty, but she had a fierce temper to go with it, the Durin-blue eyes and wavy mahogany locks hiding a sharp mind and a strong heart; Dís in a temper was someone Nori did his level best avoid ever since he had watched her reduce a grown man to tears for creeping on her friend at a bar – he’d struck up a friendship with her the very next day.

“Back to my babysitting your _other_ cousin, however,” Nori sighed. He wasn’t sure if he would owe Dís for this more than _she_ would owe him. Dori’s well-meant concern was touching but also somewhat smothering; Nori felt quite happy with his single life – most of the time, anyways – but Dori was a worrier, always had been, and her latest worry was whether he would end up alone and lonely.

“You’ll love him, I’m sure,” Dís promised, smiling sunnily and patting her belly with that look on her face that meant she was speaking mentally to the little inhabitant. “He and Thorin are coming round here next week – I’m going to con them into painting the nursery – so if you show up around dinnertime you can meet him informally? It’ll be pizza and beer, probably.” Toasting Nori with her mug, Dís drained the last of her cocoa with a borderline indecent moan.

“You don’t want me to help paint?” Nori asked, mock-hurt. Dís raised an eloquent eyebrow at him, a silent reminder of that time in college he had believed that he was an artist. Nori grinned, stooping to kiss her cheek. “Nuff said, though I could get Ori to come over and make it better afterwards,” he winked, picking up both empty mugs and taking them through to the kitchen for washing up. Dís groaned behind him.

“Don’t make me regret being such a good Samaritan, Rivers!” she threatened, but she didn’t get up from her armchair, so Nori knew she wasn’t really annoyed. “And tell wee Ori I’ll pay him to do the detail-work if he’s time with finals and all. Mahal knows Thorin won’t manage anything but geometric shapes.” Nori laughed.

“See you in a week, mama Dís,” he hollered as he let himself out of the small house, fleeing the stream of fondly exasperated invective that followed him out the door with a wide grin on his face.

 

 

A week later, Nori felt unaccountably nervous when he knocked on the door of Dís’ place, scowling at his own knuckles when he realised too late that the door, too, had been painted, staining his skin blue.

“Bloody Durin’s and the bloody blue paint” he groused. A deep laugh greeted him, issuing from the dark-haired man who had starred in a few of Nori’s fantasies when he first met Dís’ charismatic older brother in college.

“Aye, I’d hoped to catch you walking up the path,” Thorin agreed apologetically, stepping back; his blue eyes – only slightly different in shade than the bloody door – twinkling with mirth. “It should wash off with a bit of turpentine,” he added, “only don’t open that anywhere inside the house. Dís has put her foot down.” This time, his smile was conspiratorial, and Nori couldn’t help but return it.

“You know, I’d heard of morning sickness,” he joked, toeing off his boots with familiarity, “but eighth month sickness? I’m glad I’m not a woman.”

“You giving me lip, Rivers?” Dís called. Nori shared a different look with Thorin, who shrugged. Dís somehow _always_ knew when he was mocking her; it was like a sixth sense.

“Of course not, o lovely lady of the manor,” he shouted back, sweeping her a theatrical bow complete with imaginary hat when Dís appeared in the doorway. Looking up, he shot her a grin, which froze slightly on his face when he caught sight of the man standing behind her. Cocking his head, Nori found himself powerless to stop his eyes roaming that figure, lingering on the man’s powerful thighs encased in denim, the thick muscular arms decorated with stark lines of dark ink, skating up to the blue mohawk and down to the handsomely chiselled face of – _oh gods, this had to be Dwalin!_

“Good!” Dís replied, stepping up to allow him to peck her cheek in greeting and breaking Nori’s focus. _Holy fuck!_ Nori’s mind was spinning, overwhelmed with _want_. “Anyways, this is Dwalin, our cousin,” she continued, surreptitiously pinching Nori’s wrist. Nori’s knees felt weak, and the mountainous effort it took to wrestle his eyes away from the object of his sudden desires told him he would be in major trouble soon, one way or another.

“You must be Dís’ friend, Nori,” Dwalin rumbled. Nori nearly whimpered, feeling that voice sending shivers up his spine only to race right back down to pool like lust in the pit of his belly. He nodded woodenly. When Dis pinched him again, he held out his hand to shake, feeling it nearly disappear into a fist that was at once strong and comfortable, part of his mind screaming at him to stop the moonstruck act and get himself together, but being effectively drowned out by the sight of Dwalin’s blue-grey eyes which seemed to fill the world.

“Yes,” Nori nodded, slightly perplexed at his sudden lameness. He had met beautiful people before – had met people who ticked several boxes on his list of favourite things before – so why was he being an idiot over this big hunk?

“Nice to meet you,” Dwalin replied, shooting a glance over Nori’s shoulder at Thorin that Nori wasn’t sure he wanted to decipher, “Dís told me you’d be taking me out looking at flats?” Nori nodded; he vaguely remembered something to that effect being part of the bargain.

“Not to worry, Dwal,” Thorin chuckled, his large hands landing on Nori’s shoulders, hiding the pinch he delivered in a blatantly obvious attempt to get Nori to stop staring at his friend. Nori started slightly, but managed to control his flinch, smiling blandly. “Nori’s as shrewd as a fox, he’ll be a good help – he helped me find _my_ new place, you know.”

“Oh, yeah, I kinda want something like that,” Dwalin shrugged, “thanks for offering, Nori.” He smiled, and Nori was slightly relived that Dís was still propping him up, feeling his knees turn gelatinous.

“No problem!” he said brightly, wincing at his own volume, “Nori Rivers, flat-finder extraordinaire!” Dís chose that moment to grab his arm, steering him past Dwalin and into the kitchen, which meant Nori probably owed her his first-born or something.

“Nori can help me order pizza; you two get back to work, little Philip’s nursery won’t paint itself, you know,” she urged, flapping her hands at Thorin and Dwalin, who both grinned, patting her belly on the way to the room that Dís had designated as the nursery.

“Aye, Dís,” they chorused, jostling to get through the door first. Dís chuckled, shaking her head.

 

“See, I told you, you’d like him,” Dís said smugly, keeping her voice low while she tapped the number for the pizza place. Nori felt his ears heating. Away from the immediate effect of Dwalin’s smile, he found himself somewhat more mentally stable, though part of him wanted to sneak through the house the lurk in the doorway and stare; he had only had a glimpse, but he thought it was more than enough to confirm that the backside of Dwalin was as pleasing as the front.

“ _How_ is that _Balin’s_ brother?” he hissed, gesturing towards the other end of the house. Dís clear laughter filled the kitchen with warmth.

“How are _you_ Dori’s brother?” Dís replied cheekily. “You’re a cheeky bloke with a dating history that could be described as _checkered_ , and _Dori_ is an event coordinator at my casino; correct behaviour and impeccable taste – aside from men she thinks are suitable for you – from head to toe…” she grinned at him, picking up the phone and directing her attention to the man with the phone Italian accent on the other end. Nori chuckled silently, as Dís fired off their pizza-order – he was strangely touched that she remembered his favourite, though he shouldn’t have been; they had lived together for two years as flatmates in uni, after all.

 

 

A few days later, Nori was idly typing up a new listing at work when the sound of a throat being cleared interrupted his concentration. Lifting his head sharply, aiming a glare at the offender, he was stuck once more by the same wave of instant _want_ that had hit him in Dís’ front hall. Swallowing drily and hoping his face didn’t give away the not-so-innocent direction of his thoughts, Nori smiled at Dwalin.

“How can I help you, Mr Fundinul?” he asked, wilfully trying to banish the image of Dwalin in chef’s whites that threatened to overwhelm his brain. He hadn’t had a food-fetish before, right?

“Mr Fundinul is my brother, Nori,” Dwalin said, his deep voice still sending shivers all the way though Nori’s frame, “call me Dwalin.” Nori nodded, slightly speechless. “And I wondered when you had time to look at flats with me… I realised that we never set an appointment.” He looked around the airy office with a slight air of confusion as though he hadn’t realised that Nori was actually a realtor for real, not just as a weird approximation of a pickup line. Nori snorted a slight laugh. Dwalin’s cheeks were glowing slightly, which only made him look more edible in Nori’s eyes, and – he really had to get a grip, and begin thinking of this as a business deal instead of perving on Dís’ dishy cousin.

Giving himself a mental smack to the back of the head, Nori refocused on the future hotel owner and tried to ignore the way his arms filled out the button-up plaid shirt he was wearing – setting off most of Nori’s lumber-jack fantasies in combination with those worn jeans, and inspiring a few he’d never even considered before.

 

“So why are you moving back here?” Nori asked, slowly getting used to being in Dwalin’s presence as he dragged him from one flat to the next. He started out with the dull ones, ignoring the small voice in his head that accused him of dragging out the task just to spend time with Dwalin. Dwalin was a man of few words, and most of the conversation consisted of Nori pointing out the nicer aspects of the flats they visited.

“Starting a new job,” Dwalin rumbled. “Thorin’s remodelled the restaurant over at Khûrubiriz; I’m going to be running it.” Nori whistled, impressed. Khûrubiriz – locally known as ‘The Durin Diamond’ or simply ‘The KB’ – was the Durin siblings’ co-owned project, the best hotel-casino in the area and the crowning jewel of the Erebor borough. Dís was the public face – and brains – of the operation, while Thorin handled the financials.

“Yes, my sister Dori is the event-coordinator out there,” he nodded, “I did hear they were bringing in some hot-shot foreign chef.” He hadn’t, really, but Dís was known to hire only the best, blood-ties or no. Dwalin didn’t comment, but his ears seemed to glow slightly at the praise. “Well, if you need a date for the opening, I’m your man!” Nori heard himself say, sounding far too upbeat to his own ears and wincing internally.

“Don’t you want to see how we get on at… Dori’s, was it? – the Christmas party, I mean,” Dwalin asked, stopping dead in his tracks. He sounded adorably shy.

Nori turned around. “Trust me, gorgeous, you’ve already saved that night for me,” he said, winking for the pleasure of watching the light glow in Dwalin’s tanned skin spread across his cheeks. Nori smiled. This was far more like him; prolonged exposure was clearly the way to get over how tongue-tyingly delicious Dwalin was.

 

Of course, they did not find the Perfect Apartment that day – all as per Nori’s plan – and rescheduled another go-see for three days later; Dwalin had to settle on a final kitchen design before Dís transformed into the fire-breathing dragon she really was. Nori understood, really. He didn’t like Dís being out for _his_ blood either.

That didn’t stop him from daydreaming about Dwalin’s strong arms dusty with flour, of course, or feeding him small nibbles. When his dream turned to even more pleasant imagery involving delicious cake and Dwalin’s thick fingers wielding a bag of frosting with the precision of an artist – or letting Nori discover what lay beneath the tight t-shirt armed with one, he wasn’t picky – Nori stopped himself from continuing to dream about Dwalin and food.

Or so he told himself.

 

One apartment-hunt became coffee at a local place run by Bofur’s jolly brother. Nori’s mental voice called it a coffee-date, though he tried to tell himself it was innocent, part of a charade when Dori accidentally spotted them at the café. Based on the sappiness of the smile she flashed in Dwalin’s direction when he finally managed to convince his older sister to continue on her errands, Nori hadn’t managed to keep his own infatuation hidden as well as he thought. Dwalin, at least, seemed unaware of his crush – Nori told himself that he’d get over it with prolonged exposure – but he was slowly warming to Nori’s presence, his warm smiles and rumbly words coming more often.

 

The flat was perfect for what Dwalin has asked of him, though it might be considered slightly large for a bachelor alone – in Nori’s mind it was easily big enough for two – but it was well within Dwalin’s budget, reasonably close to KB and featured most of the things on Dwalin’s wish-list.

“This place is great, Nori,” Dwalin exclaimed, the full strength of his happy grin hitting Nori like a fist and making his heart beat a little quicker.

Nori’s face split in an answering grin. “I promised you I’d find the perfect flat, didn’t I?” he winked, pleased by the light darkening of Dwalin’s cheeks.

“Yes… I promise to uphold my end of the bargain,” Dwalin said quietly, looking adorably shy. Nori almost offered to let him out of the deal, but he knew that he was too selfish to give up the fantasy that Dwalin was genuinely interested just yet. Instead, he cast about for a different topic, describing a feature of the kitchen island with far more detail than it probably warranted. Dwalin didn’t seem to mind, to Nori’s eyes he looked almost relieved to join in the conversation about kitchen appliances and design.

 

“Do you want to arrive together on Saturday?” Dwalin asked, when Nori closed the door behind them, startling Nori out of a terrifyingly sappy and domestic fantasy about Sunday breakfast cooked by Dwalin in that kitchen.

“Well…” Nori cursed his light complexion for a traitor, but he felt the blush spread across his cheekbones nonetheless, “I… I kinda told Dori I’d be coming with my boyfriend; she might get suspicious if we show up separately.” Dwalin smiled, nodding, and shook his hand before walking away, the dark coat delineating his broad shoulders perfectly.

 

 

On the night of Dori’s Christmas Extravaganza, Nori’s doorbell rung just as he stepped out of the shower, his long hair dripping on the floor behind him as he tried to wrap a towel around his waist, grumbling to himself all the way to the door.

Throwing it open, he was treated to the sight of Dwalin’s jaw dropping, a fierce blush spreading across his cheeks as his eyes darted down Nori’s bared chest.

“Sorry!” Dwalin cried, clapping a hand to his face and pivoting on the spot. His ears glowed bright pink, his shoulders hunching slightly, making them look even more appetising. Nori preened. Dwalin’s reaction was a ray of hope that maybe his crush wasn’t that unreasonable. Maybe he’d at least be lucky enough to get laid tonight.

“ _I_ was the one who answered the door like this,” Nori replied, “now get in, you’re letting the cold in.” If there was an extra sway in his hips when he turned away to return to his bedroom, Nori felt it was well-earned. “Besides, tonight, you’re supposed to be my boyfriend, remember?” he added cheekily, closing the door on Dwalin’s stuttered reply.

 

When he returned, wearing a well-fitting dark suit and a sleek purple silk shirt beneath his waistcoat, Nori found Dwalin studying the painting Ori had given him for his last birthday. Slipping his feet into a pair of Italian loafers, Nori fastened his cufflinks – one of the few things left to him by his father – and cleared his throat. Dwalin whirled.

“My brother’s work,” Nori said smoothly, gesturing towards the painting.

“I didn’t hear you come back!” Dwalin exclaimed, less-than-subtle in the way he checked out Nori. Grinning cheekily, Nori twirled.

“Do I pass muster?” he asked, winking. Dwalin blushed lightly.

“Very pretty,” he nodded, ducking his head shyly.

“You clean up nice, yourself, Dwalin,” Nori smiled appreciatively, blatantly checking out the tailormade suit that transformed Dwalin from his usual shirt-and-trousers wet dream to a sartorially hedonistic wet dream.

“Thanks,” Dwalin replied, rubbing the back of his head, but keeping Nori locked in his gaze as he walked. For a moment, Nori thought Dwalin was going to kiss him, recognising something like hunger in his eyes as he closed the distance between them, but the bulky man simply held out his arm for Nori to take. With a light chuckle, Nori slipped his hand into the crook of Dwalin’s elbow, sternly telling his fingers to remain still rather than dance their way up to his chest to learn whether the muscles beneath the white shirt were as firm as they looked from a distance. “Shall we?”

 

 

Dori had outdone herself, Nori was sure. The ballroom of Khûrubiriz had been transformed into a tasteful display of winter, with people everywhere sipping from flutes made of crystal shaped like icicles and eating fancy fingerfoods. Beside him, Dwalin let out a sigh of relief, directing their feet towards one of the servers.

“Hungry?” Nori purred, raising an eyebrow when Dwalin loaded up a napkin with one of each kind of nibble.

“A little, I suppose,” Dwalin replied, holding up the morsel of food with a critical eye. “Try this,” he added, holding one small triangle of what looked like crispy cracker topped with small fluffs of a white creamy substance, a sliver of asparagus head and a couple of lemon pearl like beads that shimmered slightly in the light.

Nori leaned in slowly, watching Dwalin’s eyes widen when he stole the hors d’oeuvre from his fingers by closing his mouth around it. Drawing back, he chewed carefully. Dwalin looked anxious. “It’s good,” Nori nodded. “What is it?” Dwalin beamed like the sun, making Nori feel warmth spreading in his own cheeks as he picked up a small cup made of pastry.

“That one was a cracker made with seaweed flour, dotted with smoked cheese cream and garnished with lemon gel beads, a slice of cauliflower and asparagus head, and some raw pickled apple,” Dwalin revealed. “I invented them for the restaurant as part of an appetizer, but we’re testing them tonight, so to speak.”

“So I’m your Guinea pig?” Nori teased, nodding at the pasty Dwalin still held. “What’s that one?”

“No!” Dwalin exclaimed, looking flustered. “But… well, if you were my boyfriend, I’d want your honest reaction to my food… and…I-,” he sighed, shaking his head, “I’m sorry, Nori, I’m not good at this.” Looking at the small pastry – Nori noticed some shrimp and something he thought was red onion, though it was far pinker than any onion he’d seen – Dwalin mumbled something to himself that Nori couldn’t make out, though it didn’t look complimentary.

“Hey,” Nori said quietly, catching Dwalin’s wrist in a quick move, “I told you to treat me like I’m your boyfriend tonight, remember? Now tell me all about the delicious food you made.” Dwalin’s eyes snapped up to look at him, and Nori caught himself wondering what it’d be like to really be Dwalin’s if _this_ was the kind of smiles Nori earned when they were faking it. Not that he was, necessarily; the food looked delicious, and he loved the way Dwalin’s entire being lit up when he launched into an explanation of filo-cups with avocado puree, shrimp, pickled red onion, and diced mango. Stealing the pastry cup from Dwalin’s fingers felt nearly indecent, and Nori felt quite pleased that he’d managed to snag them a somewhat darkened corner. “This is so good!” he exclaimed, picking a small square up off of Dwalin’s napkin and holding it towards the chef’s mouth. “You try one.”

“I already know what they taste like,” Dwalin chuckled, “I made most of these this morning; I arrived in the kitchen at 4 am.” Nori prompted him again with the bite-sized food, fighting not to swoon when Dwalin copied his move and ate it straight from his fingers.

“Here you are, Nori!” Dori exclaimed, interrupting the moment in spectacular fashion. Nori groaned internally, plastering on his ‘get lost’-smile and pivoting to face Dori.

“Sister!” he replied, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Scram!” he whispered furiously.

“So you two _are_ dating,” Dori said, ignoring Nori completely as she turned to Dwalin, “I thought I recognised you from somewhere!” Holding out her well-manicured hand, Dori smiled, “I’m Dori Rivers, the event-coordinator at Khûrubiriz.”

“Yes,” Dwalin replied, shaking her hand, “we’ve a meeting in a few days to discuss the opening of my restaurant. I’m Dwalin Fundinul.”

“ _Of course_ , you are!” Dori smiled widely, “Such family resemblance; you look much like your father – I’ve seen pictures round dear Balin’s house, you know.” Dwalin nodded, his face losing the open look Nori cherished at the mention of his family. “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your date, I need a word with Giselle.” Like a whirlwind, Dori was gone, but the small bubble of intimacy they had enjoyed earlier had suddenly burst, leaving awkward silence behind in her wake.

 

Dwalin seemed to have retreated into himself after Dori’s chatter, and Nori was beginning to feel like his night had been thoroughly scuppered. Snagging a pair of flutes off a passing waitress, Nori handed one to Dwalin, who accepted it with a far off look on his face, his other hand still holding a napkin with three small hors d’oeuvres.

“You didn’t tell me about the one you ate,” Nori tried, attempting to distract his silent companion, “was it that terrible?” Dwalin startled, squeezing his flute hard. Nori heard an ominous crack.

“Fuck!” Dwalin cried loudly, startling a couple nearby ladies as he dropped both napkin and glass. “Mahal’s bloody balls!” he cursed, staring at the piece of glass stem embedded in the flesh between his index finger and thumb. Nori winced.

“Don’t pull it out!” Nori cried, catching Dwalin’s other hand and squeezing it tight. “You might make it worse!” Blood was sarting to drip from the edge of Dwalin’s large palm as the chef stared at Nori with some confusion.

“Nori, it’s fine,” he said, squeezing back. “I’ve just cut the skin, don’t worry. Hurts like a bitch, but it’ll be just fine.”

“At least let me take you to the bathroom,” Nori bargained uneasily, snatching a couple of napkins from the waiter who’d come running at the sound of Dwalin’s curses and pressing them into Dwalin’s wounded fist to help soak up the blood. “Then we can see properly.” He must have looked as terrified as he felt – Nori never had been good with watching people he cared about hurt – because Dwalin just sighed and began to tow him off in the direction of the gent’s.

“You do realise there’s a medical office here, right?” Dwalin mused, making Nori realise that they weren’t in fact heading towards the bathrooms, but rather down a small corridor lined with offices aiming for the one quite clearly marked ‘Medic’. Nori felt slightly stupid.

“What’ve you done now, nephew?” the bushy-browed middle-aged man asked, sounding slightly bored when he opened the door. Looking at Dwalin’s hand, he shook his head with long-suffering amusement. “Hulda!” he called over his shoulder, “Dwalin’s here an’ bleedin’, luv!”

“Broke a glass, Uncle Grover,” Dwalin said sheepishly, repeating the words to the redhaired woman who marched into the office through the back door.

“You and your little accidents,” she sighed, shaking her finger at him with a smile, “and this is that handsome lad I’ve been hearing about you being seen out and about with, hmm?” she added, sending another smile in Nori’s direction. Dwalin’s ears reddened.

“This is Nori, Auntie,” he replied, holding up his hand.

“Hello Nori,” Hulda smiled. Nori waved, one hand still wrapped warmly in Dwalin’s fist. “Well then, lad, let me see what you’ve done to yourself this time.” Hulda removed the wet napkins, tutting to herself as she turned Dwalin’s hand this way and that. Suddenly, she yankd the long shard of glass out of Dwalin’s flesh. Nori winced. Dwalin hollered a curse. Hulda raised an eyebrow at him, making Dwalin scowl at her. “Och, now, me wee lamb,” she murmured softly, reaching for antiseptic and bandages, “you know as well as I do that you’ve had much worse over the years; this one hardly counts as a scrape! Shouldn’t even need stitches, really.” Dwalin kept scowling, while Nori’s attention remained glued to the wound that was swiftly disappearing beneath bandages.

“Thanks, Aunt Hulda,” Dwalin sighed ruefully, holding up his hand, “impeccable as always.”

“No worries, laddie, send me a bag of those cookies and we’ll be even,” Hulda winked, her husband laughing heartily at the joke. “Keep that clean now,” she warned, wagging her finger at him, “and for Mahal’s sake get your boyfriend out of here before he faints; he looks pale.”

 

“Nori?” Dwalin asked carefully, closing the medic’s door behind them. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Nori nodded, though he felt the tightness in his shoulders give away the lie. He continued walking down the corridor, back in the direction of the party.

“Hey,” Dwalin replied softly, squeezing his hand and making him realise that his own slender fingers were still wrapped in Dwalin’s warm grip. Nori froze to the spot. “I really am fine, Nori,” he continued, “you heard Aunt Hulda.”

“I don’t like people I care about getting hurt,” Nori said, evading Dwalin’s keen gaze. He forced himself not to fidget. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“You care about me?” Dwalin asked, tugging on Nori’s hand until he turned around. Nori cursed his big mouth, staring down at Dwalin’s shoe. A droplet of blood had stained his trouser hem. “Hey, look at me, Nori?” Dwalin said, cupping his jaw with the bandaged hand and lifting Nori’s face.

“Of course, I do,” Nori sighed, “we’re friends, aren’t we?” Dwalin nodded slowly, letting go of his face and taking a step back.

“Yes,” he muttered, “just friends.” Squaring his shoulders, Dwalin let go of Nori’s hand, nodding decisively. “Would you mind if I called it a night?” he asked next, though he didn’t wait for Nori to do more than nod before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving Nori in the lobby.

 

He didn’t remember telling his feet to move, or his hand to reach, even as he watched himself catch up to Dwalin, putting his hand on Dwalin’s arm to stop him walking away.

“Not…” he swallowed nervously, feeling vulnerable. “Not just friends, Dwalin, if… if you want?”

Dwalin’s smile crinkled the corners of his eyes adorably. “I do want,” he murmured, one hand snaking into Nori’s jacket and wrapping around his waist. Nori smiled widely, stepping closer.

 

 


End file.
